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Trump Legal Team Urges Fed Appeals Court To Throw Out Subversion Case On Immunity Grounds; Excessive Rain, Warm Temps Expected This Holiday Weekend; Thousands Attend Rally In Tel Aviv Calling For Release Of Hostages. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired December 24, 2023 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: The Detroit Pistons have matched the mark for futility in the NBA.

[07:00:03]

Detroit dropping their 26th street game Saturday night, falling to the Nets by 11 in Brooklyn. So this ties the 2010 Cavaliers and 2013 76ers for the longest losing streak over the course of a single season. The worst stretch ever also belongs to the Sixers. It lost 28 straight spanning two seasons back in 2014 and 2015. It could hit 29 with a loss to the Rockets on New Year's Day.

But, you guys, I feel like a Grinch right now handing out coal to the Detroit Pistons. Hopefully, they can get off the snide and get a win here soon. But it's been pretty bleak.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, we don't look like the Grinch. That's all that matters.

Carolyn, thank you. Good to see you.

The next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

(MUSIC)

WALKER: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Amara Walker.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Danny Freeman. Victor Blackwell is off today and merry Christmas eve to everyone out there.

WALKER: Santa is making his rounds right now as we speak.

Meantime, new developments from former President Trump's legal team in a filing submitted late last night. The president is urging a federal appeals court to throw out the federal election subversion criminal case against him in Washington, D.C. His attorneys driving home the point Trump was working in his official capacity as president to make sure the integrity of the election results.

FREEMAN: So, in the document they said before any single prosecutor can ask a court to sit in judgment of the president's conduct, Congress must have approved of it by impeaching and convicting the president and since that did not happen, Trump has immunity.

Well, the appeals court has expedited the process and we'll hear arguments on January 9. But in the meantime, the judge for the case in question has paused procedural deadlines.

WALKER: And now, it's up to an appeals court to decide if presidential immunity applies here. And, well, that's complicated.

FREEMAN: Yeah. And he's also not the first president to invoke presidential immunity.

CNN's Brian Todd explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: This is a very sad day for America.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In arguing his innocence in the federal criminal case against him related to January 6th, former President Donald Trump and his lawyers insist that Trump's presidential immunity, while he was in office, extends to the criminal justice system.

What is presidential immunity?

NICK AKERMAN, FORMER ASSISTANT SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: Presidential immunity basically means that you cannot be sued or criminally prosecuted for certain acts as president of the United States.

TODD: Why is there an idea that a president shouldn't be criminally prosecuted for an act committed during their time in the White House?

AKERMAN: Philosophically, the heart of the argument on this immunity is that a president has to be able to move forward, make decisions, at a pretty rapid pace. And he can't be subject to lawsuits for any act that he takes, whatever act that is, that he can't be tied up in court rather than being acting as president.

TODD: But Nick Akerman says that applies mainly to civil lawsuits against a sitting president, not criminal charges.

AKERMAN: It's a completely different situation if a president commits a crime. Under no circumstance does a president have the right to commit a crime.

TODD: President Richard Nixon tried to invoke a limited presidential immunity over judicial orders in 1974 when he tried to avoid handing over his White House tapes to the special counsel investigating the Watergate scandal. He didn't try to invoke immunity over criminal prosecution.

TIMOTHY NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: The Supreme Court, in the summer of 1974, swept all these arguments away, and said that Richard Nixon had to turn over the tapes. TODD: Nixon did hand over the tapes, which contained evidence that he

was involved in the Watergate cover-up. Shortly after that, he was out.

RICHARD NIXON, FORMER PRESIDENT: I shall resign the presidency, effective at noon tomorrow.

TODD: After leaving the presidency in his iconic 1977 interviews with journalist David Frost, Nixon seemed to indicate he thought he was above the law, while serving as president.

NIXON: But when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.

TODD: But historian Tim Naftali says Nixon was not referring to absolute presidential immunity.

NAFTALI: He was talking about a very narrow band of national security and domestic security operations, which, for a period of time, could be done in the United States, and it not be illegal, but even that narrow band, which does not include insurrections, and it does not include burglarizing the Democratic National Committee or your opponents' party headquarters, that narrow band ultimately was removed by Congress, and the courts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Even though current special counsel, Jack Smith, was rebuffed today in his attempt to get the Supreme Court to quickly decide whether Trump has presidential immunity, some legal analysts believe the Supreme Court will likely weigh in on that question in some fashion, the question is when, since Smith had been pushing for Trump's January 6th trial to start within a few months.

[07:05:01]

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

FREEMAN: All right. For more on all this, we have now CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen.

Norm, I want to read that quote that are the top, just one more time, just to get your reaction to it. Trump's lawyers argued in the filing before any single prosecutor could ask a court to sit in judgment of the president's conduct, Congress must have approved of it by impeaching and convicting the president. That didn't happen here, and so, President Trump has absolute immunity.

What's your reaction to that?

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Danny, it's silly. Of course, I worked on the first impeachment of Donald Trump and the Constitution says that impeachment proceedings don't preclude later criminal process. But it doesn't say that impeachment proceedings and a conviction are required for later criminal process, like so often with President Trump and his lawyers they have taken the constitutional text and distorted it.

Now, why are they making this silly argument, which they repeat again in their new brief filed very late last night at the direction of the D.C. Circuit. This D.C. Circuit case is moving on a rocket docket. Why do they do that? Because when it comes down to presidential immunity, they know, like the rest of us, they have a tough haul to say that the president is absolutely immune. Judge Chutkan has ruled that out, so they are grasping at straws to have another argument. It won't work.

FREEMAN: All right. Norm, I'm curious. You know, you could argue that Supreme Court handed Trump a win on in immunity case back on Friday. But do you think this will take the wind out of Jack Smith's sail at all?

EISEN: Well, I think it will slow the wind in his sails. We are probably not going to get that March 4th trial. I'm guessing that by the time it gets back to the Supreme Court, we might have a delay of 60 or 90 days. Nobody knows for sure.

As I look at the calendar, I don't think this is going to prevent Jack Smith from trying his case in 2024. Here's why. Why did the D.C. Circuit order Trump to file his brief before midnight a couple days after Christmas on the holiday weekend? Because they are in a big hurry. They want the case fully briefed and they are going to have an oral argument on January 9th. They will decide within days after that.

And then guess what happens? Back at the Supreme Court. So I think we are most likely seeing a short delay, short-ish. Of course, nobody knows for sure, but most likely 60 to 90-day delay and then Trump will be back in front of Judge Chutkan and in front of that D.C. jury.

FREEMAN: All right. Well, Norma, I want to switch gears for second. I am fascinated by this Colorado case. From your perspective, will Trump's name appear on a Colorado ballot in 2024?

EISEN: Well, that is one where there's less clarity than when it comes to presidential immunity. The Colorado decision is a powerful one. They have a strong evidentiary basis for saying Donald Trump is an insurrectionists. As the January 6th committee found, he did nothing while the insurrection raged for 187 minutes and he even poured fuel on flames through his speech on the ellipse and targeting Mike Pence in that notorious tweet at 2:24. So there is a sound evidentiary basis to say he is an insurrectionists and sound legal basis.

The Constitution says if you are an insurrectionist, you can't be president. Now, the problem with that good decision is that it heads to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court is going to have the final word. They have never decided this 14th amendment question before. Donald Trump is certainly going to file and soon in the Supreme Court for their review, and no one knows what they are going to do. But a strong decision is headed their way.

FREEMAN: Norm, if you don't mind, I would like to put you on the spot. From your perspective, is Chief Justice Roberts just squirming, thinking about all of these things his court is going to have to weigh on -- weigh in in 2024?

EISEN: Oh, well, Danny, I know the chief justice, and he signed up to handle the most important questions that our nation has to offer. I think that the chief justice is not squirming, but puzzling, scratching his head. He is wrapping his gifts for his kids and his family and thinking about how he wraps the legal process and the Constitution and the rule of law in the months ahead.

[07:10:09]

I do think he is a superb judicial politician in the best sense. He figures out what the Supreme Court can do, how it can maintain its credibility and do the right thing under the Constitution, and he is going to do some juggling and weighing and balancing, and that's what our country is built on, checks and balances. And the chief justice is going to figure that out.

So, it's going to be an interesting term by my count. There are as many as firefighter major Trump democracy cases that are headed to the Supreme Court and there already, and he's going to be busy.

FREEMAN: And again, that's not to mention Second Amendment or abortions or any other major issues before his court.

Last thing, Norm, I want to talk about the recording that we've all been talking about for the past few days coming out of Michigan. Just what was your reaction to that?

EISEN: Well, it's more of that evidence of the allegations, now the January 6th committee and the Colorado courts have found, they are not allegations that has been proven that Donald Trump engaged in an effort to overturn the 2020 election and frustrate a peaceful transfer of power. And the -- that's because very like -- a similar tape that exists with Georgia and Brad Raffensperger pushing state election officials where court after court said the president has no business pushing them to make decisions to block the actual winner of the election from taking office, Joe Biden, and instead, Donald Trump to perpetuate himself by having these individuals violate their duties, so he can stay in office.

And that raises the most profound legal questions and that's what the Jack Smith case is about. That's what state prosecutions of Donald Trump and others are about. And that's why John Roberts is, I think, going to try to find a way to move this Jack Smith case quickly. It's a very troubling take.

FREEMAN: Norm Eisen, thank you so much for making time this morning. Appreciate it.

WALKER: If you are dreaming of a white Christmas this year, this holiday forecast is not what you want to hear. Only a few states are expected to see a white Christmas tomorrow as many will feel much warmer temperatures than what they are used to this time of year. We were feeling it here in Atlanta yesterday.

Lots of rain is also expected to hit much of the Midwest and parts of the south today. Those traveling this holiday should be careful because of an increase in flood risks from the excessive rainfall. Lots to talk about, unfortunately.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is here with us to tell us what we need to know.

Hi, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Merry Christmas Eve.

I used to watch the Hallmark show that was called "Merry Christmas Eve, Eve", because there was a character named Eve, and that was my classic show to watch.

WALKER: Never heard of it. But I'll Google it.

MYERS: Well, it's a merry Christmas for a lot of people, especially if you are skiing in the Rockies. If you are driving across Nebraska or Kansas, maybe not so much, because things have escalated quickly. Blizzard warnings are up now for more than a foot of snow in that area. But it's the rainfall that may slow down especially drivers today.

There will be some spots between two and four inches of rain, not snow, but rain with this system. And for tomorrow morning if you are waking up now, starting the fireplace, get the coffee going, rain from St. Louis all the way back down to parts of Florida, still snowing in the central plains there, but the rain continues for the afternoon and then it moves into the Northeast for Tuesday.

And that's what I think a lot of people are going to try to be in and out of airports and Tuesday may be the slowest day for airports because of that. Today airports are going to be fine. You may slow down New Orleans a bit, may slow down Minneapolis. Other than that, the airports are green.

But who's ever heard of 55 and rain in Chicago for Christmas Day? Here is Santa tracker. He was just seen at Queenstown, New Zealand. He is on his way to Fiji. He will be there in five minutes.

Believe this or not, 417 million packages have already been delivered with our Santa tracker from NORAD.org -- guys.

WALKER: He is on a mission. We're going to talk to a --

MYERS: I don't know how he gets all that --

WALKER: I don't either. I mean, he's fast. He's efficient and we're going to talk about that, how Santa gets it all done and what time these children get their presents. Obviously, it will be when they're sleeping. But the NORAD deputy commander will be joining us later this hour.

MYERS: Good stuff.

WALKER: Looking forward to that. Chad Myers.

So, that movie, "Christmas Eve, Eve", is that the one with -- starring Leann Rimes?

[07:15:05]

I just Googled it. No? No, OK, it's not.

MYERS: Maybe.

WALKER: No, it's not. You would have said, yes, absolutely it is. Clearly, it's not. it doesn't ring a bell. Good to see you, Chad.

MYERS: Just ask my wife. She'll know.

WALKER: Thanks.

FREEMAN: All right. Still ahead, a heartwarming reunion after a young woman survived the October 7th attacked by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival reconnects with the man who rescued her. We have a CNN exclusive coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Israel's military says it has expanded its ground operations in Gaza, a part of a desperate search for hostages still held by Hamas.

FREEMAN: Last night, thousands rallied in Tel Aviv calling on Israel's government to do more, to bring those hostages home.

Many are calling on Israel to initiate an immediate deal to release hostages.

[07:20:04]

The prime minister's office says there are currently 129 who remain captives in Gaza but only 107 remain alive. Twenty-two are believed to be dead but their bodies have not yet been recovered.

And it's been 11 weeks since Hamas' brutal attacks on Israel.

WALKER: And while there are many victims still suffering, some are trying to heal.

CNN's Will Ripley met with one survivor who's working to do just that.

And, Will, good to see you. She returned to the scene of they are tragedy. Tell us what that was like for her.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, there are very few moments since October 7th for anyone on either side of this horrific war to smile about, but this might just be one of them.

Looking at that cloud of smoke, what does that trigger for you?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Looking at that cloud of smoke, what does that trigger for you?

NATALIE SANANDAJI, NOVA MUSIC FESTIVAL SURVIVOR: It's the same smoke, it definitely reminds me of those noises that bring me back to that day.

RIPLEY (voice-over): In southern Israel, you don't need a map to know you are near Gaza.

Why are you here? Why do you want to go back?

SANANDAJI: Sorry.

RIPLEY: That loud boom outgoing artillery near our car, rattling native New Yorker Natalie Sanandaji.

RIPLEY: Tell me what that made you feel like just now?

SANANDAJI: I got scared, like we were being shot at it. I'm fine.

RIPLEY: The last time she was on this road, Natalie was running for her life. Just after sunrise on Saturday October 7th, rocket interceptions seen from the dance floor at the Nova Music Festival. Hamas militants killed more than 350 people, mostly young, mostly Jewish, mostly unarmed.

SANANDAJI: I feel so lucky that I made it out, that I got out alive. I feel that it's my duty to be that voice for all those who were not as lucky as me.

RIPLEY: That sense of duty is why she is returning to Israel for the first time since the attacks.

SANANDAJI: Just seeing all these faces, and knowing people that loved these faces.

RIPLEY: Faces of friends who never made it home.

SANANDAJI: Oh my gosh! (INAUDIBLE)

It's so crazy, I was dancing right next to them. It's so hard to see how many of them there are.

RIPLEY: And it could've been you.

SANANDAJI: Yeah.

RIPLEY: The music festival campsite now a place where families come to grieve. Rockets in the sky, gunshots on the ground. All she could do was run. Many took cover in bathrooms, bomb shelters, ditches. Most of them ended up dead. Four hours of running, exhausted, dehydrated. Natalie collapsed. SANANDAJI: I never thought that I would really just sit down and accept my fate.

RIPLEY: Too tired to run as a truck came closer.

SANANDAJI: We had nowhere to run to, like where are we going to get up and run to, like this is a terrorist coming to kill us like that is it. Kind of like that one, yeah.

RIPLEY: The man behind the wheel not a terrorist, from a nearby village. Natalie never got his name. She only tracked him down a few days ago. It is why she has come back, to thank him. They are about to meet for the first time since that day.

The man fighting back tears, Moshe Sati, an Israeli father of four who left home and drove directly into danger, not once or twice, more than ten trips to and from the music festival site.

SANANDAJI: It's very nice to meet you.

MOSHE SATI, NOVA MUSIC FESTIVAL RESCUER: Likewise. I said we are in it together. Come inside.

RIPLEY: You live so close to this. But, where you prepared fully for what you saw on October 7th?

SATI (through translator): Things like this, you can't forget. I will never forget what I saw. It's very, very tough.

RIPLEY: Haunted by the horrors he saw, hardened by the lives he saved.

SANANDAJI: So many people were saved in this truck.

RIPLEY: Natalie, one of well over 100 people he packed into his pickup and drove to safety.

SANANDAJI: This truck saved so many lives, and like -- it just looks like an average truck. But like, I stood right there in that corner. If it wasn't for him, I truly don't think I would have been here today.

RIPLEY: One bright chapter on a very dark day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (on camera): And so here we are, Christmas eve. It's raining. It's thunderstorms. There is lots of suffering. Yet Natalie is alive. She's hopes she can share this story and put a human face on what happened on October 7th. The event that has now led to so much suffering and misery on both sides of this war -- Amara.

WALKER: Also showing the face of a hero, Moshe, this father of four who you caught up with. I mean, more than ten trips back to the festival towards danger.

[07:25:00]

Did he tell you about whether or not he knew some of the people at the festival? How did he know what was going on, and did he have a connection to the people there?

RIPLEY: This is what is so extraordinary. He was safe at home with his family in a bunker when all of this was happening and he was watching news coverage. He was hearing chatter from neighbors that something was wrong and something was happening at the music festival. But none of his kids were there. He didn't know anybody who was attending, but he says he didn't think twice about it.

As others were running away, he jumped in that truck. He had a handgun as a sidearm. He didn't have to use, he says. But he essentially started making trips. Every time he ran to a group of kids, because it was mostly kids, he had a he loads hem in the truck, takes them back to the house, make sure they are okay, go back to the truck, go further and further until the tenth trip, 11th trip, 12th trip, he was actually right at the site of the music festival itself.

He will not talk specifically about the things that he saw there, but when you see in his eyes he starts to remember and he stops and looks down and you can tell it really haunts him, some of the horrible things that he saw as he was driving through the scene of a massacre looking for people still alive so he could bring them back to safety.

WALKER: His courage and the many lives that he saved is more than commendable.

Will Ripley, what a powerful story, thank you for bringing that to us.

And, Fareed Zakaria will look at the Middle East conflict. Hear what both sides have to say about the number of failed attempts at peace, the role of the U.S. and the latest clash. The new "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" special "The Road to War The Middle East" airs this morning at 10:00.

FREEMAN: Still ahead, the busy holiday travel season in full swing and for the most are part airlines and airlines off to a smooth start. We will take a closer look at what is behind this year's success so far, next.

[07:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: One person is dead, another injured after a shooting at a mall in Ocala, Florida on Saturday. Police have identified the victim as 40-year-old David Nathaniel Barron. The shooting happened during one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF MIKE BALKEN, OCALA POLICE: We responded to that call that came in as an active shooter. We responded with a heavy police presence. Officers immediately made entry into the mall, ultimately discovered that this was not what we would consider an active shooter. There was a shooting that took place inside the mall that we believe was possibly a targeted act of violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Well, the police found the victim in a common area of the mall, along with a woman who was shot in the leg. She was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to recover. The mall, of course, was packed with holiday shoppers, and they were quickly evacuated after the shooting. Police are still searching for the suspect.

FREEMAN: The band formerly known as the Dixie Chicks is paying tribute to one of their former members. Laura Lynch died on Saturday. She co-founded the band before leaving in 1992. They changed then their name to The Chicks in 2020. They said they were shocked and saddened by the news of Lynch's death. They remember her as, "A bright light", and said her infectious energy and humor gave a spark to the early days of the band's career.

WALKER: Right now, the busy holiday travel season is in full swing. Of course, it's Christmas Eve, and for the most part, airports and airlines are off to a smooth start, especially compared to, remember last year, that major Southwest meltdown last year that left, I think it was like 2 million people stranded. Major U.S. airlines are expecting near record travel numbers. AAA projects over 7 million people will fly during the Christmas and New Year's travel period.

Joining us now is CNN Aviation Analyst Mary Schiavo. Good to see you. Good morning, Mary. I love your red --

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST AND FORMER USDOT INSPECTOR GENERAL: Good morning.

WALKER: -- on this Christmas Eve.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

WALKER: Look, I don't want to jinx anything. Maybe we already jinxed it. But yes, we've been saying that things have been moving quite smoothly at our nation's airports. Even Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary said that so far 2023 has seen the lowest cancellation rate in the last five years. What do we attribute that to?

SCHIAVO: Well, finally, perhaps a combination of factors. Congress has gotten tougher on airlines. They've demanded -- spoken out and demanded better transportation policy and better response from the airlines. And of course, the Federal Aviation Administration has been imposing fines for bad airline behavior. They said, straighten up and fly right.

And finally, you know, the computer glitches and now weather is always a problem. If you have bad weather, you're going to have delays and cancellations. But so many of the delays and cancellations were due to computer problems, and that is unacceptable. If you can't run your, your computer system, your software, or your I.T., well, you can't be running an airline because, let's face it, airplanes are flying computers.

So, it's a combination of factors that improve things. But even so, almost 22 percent of the flights in 2023 were delayed. So, there's still a lot of work to be done. But so far this holiday season, depending upon the weather, again, there is a storm brewing in the Midwest, they're only predicting about 100 cancellations today, which is remarkable. It's been averaging about 500 or more. So, today looks pretty good so far.

WALKER: So far. So far. We can't talk about what's going to happen next, right? What about the shortage of roughly 3,000 air traffic controllers? We know that there's a new FAA administrator who was installed just several weeks ago, but I mean 3,000 air traffic controllers that are not in their positions where they should be, that's a bit concerning. What's the impact of that?

SCHIAVO: Well, the impact is huge because the air traffic controllers are fatigued. There have been, for example, this year, there was a record number of near collisions, near misses, whichever you care to call them, where airplanes came dangerously close to each other, especially at runways and on the tarmacs. And, not one now. We can't blame them all on the air traffic controllers.

[07:35:00]

About half of those, or little over half, they say, it was pilot air, but air traffic control did play a role. And we simply can't run the system with 3,000 -- less than 3,000 controllers. Some facilities don't even have the critical number that the FAA itself says critical number. Some of that can be blamed on COVID. The FAA stopped hiring and training during COVID, putting them behind the schedule, behind hiring. But that gap must be solved, and air traffic controllers keep us safe. Well, when I was in flight school, one saved my life from midair. So, they're very important.

WALKER: And just for those who have PTSD from last year on the Southwest meltdown, are you concerned? I mean, I guess it's really out of our control, but could there be more computer glitches or meltdowns like last year?

SCHIAVO: Well, there could be, but you know, they identified the problem and they got that into place. But you know, every major airline has had such a -- well, almost every major airline has had such a glitch over the past five years or so. Southwest was particularly notable because, you know, a lot of people spoke up and said they couldn't even schedule their pilots. But there's really no excuse for that because you're supposed to literally have three systems as systems as is the air traffic control. One computer system to be running, one for maintenance, and one for emergency. And that's the FAA's goal.

So, I think Southwest clearly got the message, especially with the record fine that was imposed. By the way, that fine goes government, not the passengers' inconvenience. But I think they did get them.

WALKER: OK. Before we go, something really cool, I want to talk to you about and show our viewers, one of the world's most widely used cargo planes completed an entire flight, there was no one on board. Yes, no pilot on board. There was a pilot remotely controlling the aircraft. It flew, I think, 50 miles, that's 12 minutes total. is this the future of air travel? Someone with a remote control?

SCHIAVO: Well, actually, remember the military has been doing this for years, you know, with their drones and China has certified pilotless aircraft company, a car company there. And so, yes, generally, the industry says this is the future, although about three fourths of Americans say they do not want to fly on a pilotless plane. And remember this is being looked at for certification for cargo. But other countries, including Germany, for example, are very much looking at it for, especially CityHopper service and vertical takeoff and landing service.

So, yes. Pundits say it's coming. The FAA is testing. And by the way, the first pilotless flight they tested was probably 40 years ago. So, it's coming. Some say by the end of this decade we'll be flying --

WALKER: That -- before I go, one word answer from you. What would Mary do? Would you ride on one of those pilotless planes, commercial planes, if it becomes one?

SCHIAVO: Yes, but then I have a pilot's license.

WALKER: I'm riding with you. Mary Schiavo, thanks so much.

FREEMAN: That's your failsafe right there. That's good.

All right. I'm reading this now, still ahead, what do a rabbi, a priest, and a monsignor motorcyclist have in common? Well, they're all chaplains on a mission to lend spiritual guidance to LAPD officers. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not there to speak sermons to them. I'm not there to try to overwhelm them with whatever I believe theologically or spiritually or religiously. I'm there to just be that person who will listen to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00]

WALKER: Welcome back, everyone. Earlier this morning, Pope Francis led the midday Angelus prayer from St. Peter's Square. Encouraging all to open their hearts to God's love and treat others with kindness and care.

FREEMAN: The Pope also shared reflections from the Gospel for today's Fourth Advent Sunday, recounting the scene of the Annunciation as the angel told Mary she will conceive a son, Jesus. He ended by suggesting followers, think of those suffering on Christmas due to war, referencing those in Gaza, the Occupied West Bank, Israel, and Ukraine.

WALKER: A monsignor on a motorcycle, a rabbi who escaped the Holocaust, and a priest who packs heat. They all work in the Los Angeles Police Department and they are all police chaplains.

FREEMAN: Their mission to lend perspective and spiritual guidance to officers and at a time when law enforcement faces deep challenges nationwide. There's a waiting list to join the ranks of these selfless chaplains.

CNN's Mike Valerio takes us inside the LAPD Chaplain Corps.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONSIGNOR FRANK HICKS, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT. CHAPLAIN CORPS: I have law enforcement background, I'm a recovering alcoholic, and I'm also a chaplain.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the heart of the City of Angels, there's a monsignor with a motorcycle.

HICKS: Just like police office in his uniform, I'm in my uniform and they understand what my uniform is. I understand what their uniform is.

VALERIO (voice-over): Monsignor Frank Hicks is one of 47 members of the Los Angeles Police Department Chaplain Corps. The corps mission, counsel and compassion for officers under relentless pressure.

VALERIO: What do you see of our police officers that perhaps we, in the public, don't see?

HICKS: Human beings. They are human beings. They make mistakes, and I just want to walk with them.

VALERIO (voice-over): The results, according to the LAPD's top brass, added resiliency within the ranks. ?Captain Aaron Ponce commands the Olympic Division near Downtown, Los Angeles, where Monsignor Hicks has forged friendships for nearly 15 years.

[07:45:00]

CAPT. AARON PONCE, LOS ANGELES POLICE: Here, step in the chaplains. I have become a fixture of the station. And I think that's also an important aspect because that's in a relationship building, you start to build trust.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you're walking towards it. You can see how horrific the accident was.

VALERIO (voice-over): Chaplains respond to sudden loss within the department, like the death of Officer Daryl Cunningham, killed by a drunk driver only days before Thanksgiving.

CHAPLAIN MARTIN MOREHOUSE, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT. CHAPLAIN CORPS: I'm here for the officers that are on scene. VALERIO (voice-over): Chaplain Martin Morehouse, who the department leans on when guidance is needed most briefly unable to speak, not immune, he later told us to the intensity of loss.

RABBI ISRAEL HIRSCH, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT. CHAPLAIN CORPS, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, AND KOREAN WAR VETERAN: The most important thing is to know that there's somebody there who is thinking of them, who is with them.

VALERIO (voice-over): Rabbi Israel Hirsch is a holocaust survivor, a Korean war vet and an LAPD chaplain who just turned 90.

VALERIO: How do you form a sense of trust with officers?

HIRSCH: I try to be their partner. I try to talk to them as if I was their brother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Father, we give you glory, we give you honor, and we give you praise, Lord.

VALERIO (voice-over): The LAPD's chief chaplain, Kenneth Crawford, is one of 10 corps members who balances duties as both a pastor and a sworn officer.

OFFICER KENNETH CRAWFORD, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: I'm not there to speak sermons to them. I'm not there to try to overwhelm them with whatever I believe theologically or spiritually or religiously. I'm there to just be that person who will listen to them.

VALERIO (voice-over): The LAPD tells us there's a waiting list of 20 people to join the chaplain corps, even as police recruiters face challenges nationwide. But in trying times, these chaplains see themselves as sources of solace and light. Helping those who continue to answer the call.

CRAWFORD: Even if they're in the tough times, they can look to your light for guidance on how not to accept the darkness. And maybe that light in you will bring the light out to others.

VALERIO (voice-over): Mike Valerio, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Thanks to Mike Valerio for that.

All right. Let's take a live look now at Santa's sleigh. Right now, you can see right there, he's making his way across the world delivering Christmas presents to kids. NORAD's Deputy Commander will join us next to discuss what goes into this very crucial Christmas operation, coming up next.

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[07:50:00]

FREEMAN: All right, we got big news for the good boys and girls this morning. Santa has left the North Pole is on his way to your door. We've been keeping an eye on him all morning on the Jolly Man's progress, thanks to NORAD's tracking system. Now, NORAD tracks airborne threats to North American airspace all throughout the year. But every Christmas Eve, they turn to a beloved mission they've enjoyed for decades, Tracking Santa Claus.

WALKER: Is Santa really arriving at the kids' doors or is he going down the chimney?

FREEMAN: Chimney, that's the one, yes.

WALKER: With us now to explain how it all started and how it works is Lieutenant General Blaise. thank you so much for joining us along with -- Frawley, Deputy Commander with NORAD, General Frawley. Who are we talking to?

FREEMAN: Blaise Frawley. General Blaise Frawley.

WALKER: OK. I was like, we have two different names. OK. Hi. Tell us first off, where is Santa head and neck, that's funny because I couldn't find. I guess, you know, there were some technical issues online for a moment. So, I called the 1-877-HI-NORAD and I got a real person on the line telling me where exactly Santa was. So, you can also make a phone call if you want to know where Santa is.

LT. GEN. BLAISE FRAWLEY, DEPUTY COMMANDER, NORAD: Good morning, Amara, and good morning, Danny. Great to be with you. So, Santa is right -- he's over Russia right now. Like you say, we're tracking him, all the kids -- everybody can track him at www.noradsanta.org or you can call into our ops center at 1-877-HI-NORAD or 1-877-446-6723.

FREEMAN: All right. So, I got to ask you the question. How did NORAD get involved in tracking Santa? Because like we said, normally you guys are tracking the bad guys, but this is the best guy there is.

FRAWLEY: Absolutely, and it's a great story. So, back in 1955, there was a local advertisement for the young children to call Santa if they wanted to, but they misprinted the number and it was actually the number to the operations center at Continental Air Defense. So, a colonel answered the phone, realized what was happening and he played along. Continental Air Defense shortly thereafter became NORAD. And we've been tracking Santa because of that one incident for 68 years now.

WALKER: That is such a great story. So, is Rudolph really leading the way with his nose? I understand that his nose does give off some heat and allows you guys to track Rudolph and where the sleigh is.

FRAWLEY: Yes, Rudolph is leading the way. He -- his nose serves multi-purposes. The -- as you're aware from the song, his nose guides Santa through bad weather. But for us, because we use our satellite systems to track Santa globally, they look for heat signatures or what we call infrared IR. And Santa's nose is a nice big IR signature for our satellites to track.

FREEMAN: Oh, man. That's good to know. I -- listen, I got to ask you General Frawley, you know, there's a lot of conflict in the world right now. Our men and women in uniform, they're doing so much all around the clock to help keep us safe. But what does it mean to give them a day to track Santa on -- in such a special mission?

FRAWLEY: Yes, you're absolutely right. I mean, the men and women of all of our armed forces, both Canada and the U.S., because NORAD is a binational organization. There's a lot of people putting their lives on the line and, making a lot of sacrifices and a lot of families that make a lot of sacrifice.

[07:55:00]

So, giving back a little is just a small thing we can do here at NORAD to one day a year, although it's about a month of work to get here, we can give back a little to those folks that are sacrificing quite a bit.

WALKER: OK. For all the children who are home watching, wondering when is Santa going to come and drop off his gifts and eat the Christmas cookies that I leave out. When is Santa coming over?

FRAWLEY: Santa normally comes over at about -- between 10:00 p.m. and midnight in any given time zone. He normally only goes to houses where children believe, and he only goes where the children are asleep.

WALKER: Yes.

FRAWLEY: So, don't fret though. So, if you happen to be, you know, at midnight mass, or have a family gathering going on, or you're just so excited you can't get to sleep, Santa does keep track of the houses he's missed if the children aren't asleep, and then he'll circle back and make sure he delivers presents to those houses.

WALKER: All right. Children, so go to bed early tonight.

FREEMAN: Yes.

WALKER: Like, before 7 30 everybody. Lieutenant General Blaise Frawley, thank you so much. Merry Christmas to you.

FRAWLEY: Thank you for having us on and Merry Christmas to everybody from the all -- the whole NORAD team.

WALKER: Thank you for what you do.

We'll be right back, everyone.

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